DVD Review: THE FLOWERS OF WAR

Monday, July 9th, 2012

Christian Bale is a busy man this month, with that “other” movie releasing and this one here, THE FLOWERS OF WAR, an epic tale of an American trapped in the middle of a war between China and Japan. This DVD was a really nice treat!

Bale plays John Miller, a man who finds himself in a small war torn community. Miller takes the role of a Priest in the local church and befriends a group of schoolgirls and their courtesans who are all trying to escape the terrible situation they’ve been put in during this time of war. Soldiers are dispatched and set up a post where these young girls and their guardians call home. Bad things happen, positions of authority are really taken advantage of and that’s when Miller begins to fight back. Ultimately this small group sees what this out of place American is doing for them and they finally begin to fight back even if it means losing their lives.

The Flowers of War is beautifully shot. The camera captures everything that makes this movie close to a masterpiece. The movie includes a little bit of everything from gun fights and action to intimate situations between characters you learn to care for. All of the acting is well done and the story is touching, one that has that feel good vibe at the end that so many movies like this seem fail at or simply don’t want to reach upon. I have to say that when Christian Bale takes on a role he really goes all out. He literally became John Miller and we watch this character transform into a better man as the movie plays out. Really good stuff! I don’t know if this movie will be for everybody but I sure enjoyed it. Get ready though because it’s a long watch but it really doesn’t have any slow moments so it runs along at a decent pace.

Bottom line is I really liked this movie but it ran just a little too long. The Flowers of War drops on DVD and Blu-ray on July 10th. Definitely give it a try!